Let It Go
by RoxasSerenity
Summary: People from Grissom's past have returned to Vegas, even though he isnt there and not all of them are welcome. GSR, Pepperony possibly. No Warrick. Sorry. Set beginning of Season 10. Smut in Chapter 3. Crossover starts Chap 8
1. Chapter 1

_I've had this on my mind for a while and figured, what the hell? Rating is definitely going up later on. Ironically, i've already written the end, I just need the bits in between._

_Don't own it, never have._

_**********************_

"I'm telling you, the lady gave me the cash, asked for the room. I give her the key, she goes up. She comes down, greets some dude in the foyer, they disappear for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"2, maybe 3 hours I guess. They come back, say good night go their separate ways. When I get back this morning, she hasn't checked out so I go up. Some people just leave and don't bother letting me know. I knock, no answer, so I go in. Find the old lady on the floor. Felt for a pulse, called you guys."

"Look, I've been in the room, there's no body."

"Paramedics took her 'bout five minutes before you showed up."

"Did she show you any ID?"

"Nah man. She barely even looked at me, never spoke a word. I asked her stuff but she didn't answer so I let her be."

Greg and Sara chose that moment to make an appearance. Brass told the idiot he was interviewing to stay out and walked over to the CSIs.

"72 year old female, no ID. Clerk says she payed cash, checked in alone. When she didn't come down to check out or pay for the extra night, he went into the room, found her and called 911. We're still waiting for the paramedics who picked her up. Second floor, room 235."

*******************

TWENTY MIUNTES LATER

"Mandy is gonna love us when we get back to the lab." Sara spoke to Greg while lifting print number 47 from the night stand.

"Hey guys."

"You have good timing Jim, cause I need coffee."

"Something wrong?"

"Constant shift change is messing with my head."

"Too bad. Found the guys that took the old lady."

Brass stepped aside to allow the white clad paramedics entrance. Sara looked less than thrilled.

"Of all the EMTs in Vegas, why does it have to be you Hank?"

"Cant help it that I'm doing my job Sara."

"Right. And how's Elaine?" No matter how hard she tried, that question would never sound innocent.

"Engaged and pregnant. To someone else. 'Bout you?"

"I'm actually here on consort until my research grant gets funded. Right now though, I have an unidentified woman and a possible crime scene. You take any polaroids?"

Slightly agitated that she wouldn't talk, he handed them over. She took one look at them under her flashlight before ripping her gloves off and walking from the room, pulling Brass in tow.

"You have to call Nick, see if he can swap cases with me."

"Can I ask why?"

"Conflict of interest."

"Conflict of- you know her?"

Sara handed the photo over.

"Its Gil's mother."


	2. The trouble with scabs

_These next 2 chapter are purely here for humor and background info. I also forgot to thank GSRgirlforever. I'll buy you a cake to make up for it and put in the post. Somehow. More Hank (the scab) in here. He's there for a ligate reason, I swear. To be explained later._

_I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed chapter 1. You guys are the reason I continue to write. I love you all!!! _

_**********************_

"_This is Gil Grissom, leave a message."_

"Gil, I'm going to keep calling until you answer your damn phone. It's really important that you call me back. Love you."

For the fourth time in twenty minutes, Sara hung up her phone and sighed heavily. It was bad enough that he wasn't answering, but Ecklie had called and he wasn't in a social mood. To top it all, Hank was walking in her direction.

"Now isn't a good time Hank."

"I haven't seen you for nearly two years and no one would tell me where you were."

"Why is that any of your concern? You lost any right to care when I found out about Elaine."

"Then let me try and make it up to you."

"Too Little, too late."

"I really want us to be friends again Sara. At least for now."

"I honestly don't think we can be friends again. You're too late any way."

"New boyfriend?"

"Technically, you never were my boyfriend. And no, I'm actually married." On cue, her phone rang. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to verbally abuse my husband. Why the hell was your phone switched off? I've been trying to call you for half an hour."

"_I'm sorry. Ringo made everyone switch them off. Is everything okay in Vegas? Did something happen?"_

"When was the last time you heard from your mother?"

"_A week, maybe. Sara what's going on?"_

"You need to come to Vegas. We've got a 72 year old, unidentified woman in hospital. I think...Gil I think it's your mother."

The silence over the line was making Sara uneasy as Greg made his way over, making no effort to show he was ignoring the EMT.

"Baby say something, you're scaring me."

"_I er...Are you sure?"_

"Yeah. I'm so sorry Gil."

"_Have you...have you called Sully yet?"_

"He's next on my list, after Ecklie yells at me for pulling myself off the case."

"_I'll call him, talk to Ringo then I'll be on the next flight over."_

"Will you be okay?"

"_I honestly don't know. I love you, you know that right?"_

"Course I do. I love you too."

Hank's head snapped around at her words. Greg saw his reaction and smirked at the ground in an attempt to stop himself from laughing outright. The couple said their farewells as Ecklie began the storm.

"Your supervisor has assigned you to a case Sidle."

"I have a conflict of interest in this case Ecklie."

"How on earth do you know a 72 year old?"

"Her name is Olivia Grissom and she's my mother-in-law."

"Grissom? You married your boss?" Hank sounded slightly astounded.

"It's none of your business Hank so butt out. Look Conrad, write me up for insubordination if you absolutely have to, but if I continue processing this crime scene, it's very likely that someone will notice my relationship with the victim and throw all my evidence out. I followed protocol. I was in the right here."

"How is the victim?"

"Stable. Concussion, bumps and bruises, nothing too serious. It was the shock mostly." Ecklie turned to Hank, noticing him for the first time.

"Who are you?"

"Hank Pettigrew, I'm one of the responding paramedics. Can we talk later?" His question directed at Sara.

"No, we can't. Now leave, before I give Ecklie something to write me up on."

Hank went away to ponder when Sara's phone erupted again.

"I have to take this. Hi Sully."

"_Hey. Gil just called. You think he's gonna be okay?"_

"I don't know. He's calling me back with his flight info, but I'm worried about him. Where are you?"

"_As luck would have it, I'm in New York and I know for a fact that Gil has to fly here before he gets to Vegas so I'm hoping to score a seat next to him on the flight."_

"Good luck with that. How you holding up?"

"_Not too bad. Once Gil reassured me mom hadn't died. Six times. Mom had no reason to be in Vegas Sara, from what Gil told me, she didn't even know you were there."_

"Could there be a new man in her life?"

"_Not since Jeremy died and that was years ago. Look, I'm gonna have to bail, but give me a call when you know what flight Gil's on, I got to talk to my boss 'bout getting time off."_

"No problem. Take care of yourself okay?"

"_No problems, same goes for you too. I'll talk to you later."_

"Okay, bye." She turned back to the group, who were deliberating on how to proceed with the case.

"Obviously this can become an issue because of the victim and her ties to two former law enforcement officers, one of which is currently working temporarily until we find a replacement. I spoke with the Sheriff on the drive over, he's considering this a priority for night shift. Sara, I need you to give your statement to Brass, then I'm giving you the night off. Please don't argue. Have you gotten hold of Gil yet?"

"I've spoken to him. Olivia had no reason to be here and as far as he knows, she wasn't here to see me cause she didn't know I was here."

"Anyone else in her life?"

"I asked. She hasn't been seeing anyone since her husband died a few years ago."

They chattered for a few more minutes before going their separate ways. All Sara could think was, what the hell was Olivia Grissom doing in Las Vegas?


	3. Bringing it home

_I'm on an updating record and loving it!!! For those of you going, "Who the f**k is Sully?" The third last line explains it in one. Due to many encouraging reviews of Thousand Miles, there's some smut in there for ya. GSRgirlforever is very encouraging too and I thank hjer deeply for that._

_Enjoy!!!_

_********************** _

After a few fitful hours of sleep, Sara felt more tired than she did _before_ she went to bed. The apartment she had bought with Gil was littered with boxes yet to go into storage while they finished with their research project. Until then they were stuck in two different countries until their grant got funded. Who knew how long that would take.

She looked over at the screen on her cell. 9:30. Great. It was 6:30 in Paris right now so Gil would be nearly half way to New York by now and Sully would be packing. Hopefully. One thing about Gil and Sully, they were almost complete opposites. Hank the four pound boxer trotted in and sat obediently by his master, waiting patiently for a scratch behind his ears.

She'd run by the hospital and sat with Olivia for a while. She missed her boys, she'd said as much, but she refused to divulge as to why she was in Vegas. The older woman had taken her hand, repeatedly running her thumb over Sara's golden wedding band, commenting about how happy her son was now he had followed his heart. She also complained at the lack of an engagement ring, claiming she raised her son better, ignoring Sara's constant reminders that she had told him not to waste his money.

Sara smirked at the memory of the stories from her husband's childhood, particularly the experiment with the paint bomb. Gil would _never_ live that one down.

Greg and Nick called a number of times to check up on her. The fact that they truly were like brothers to her made her feel like part of a family.

With the apartment cleaned three times, Hank taken on multiple walks and Discovery running back to back on various bugs that Gil would have thoroughly enjoyed under different circumstances, 8 o'clock saw Sara feeling unusually jittery while standing in the arrivals registration of McCarran airport.

A familiar head of silvery gray hair was approaching through the sea of tourists, suitcase in hand. She greeted the man with a hearty hug which he returned in kind.

"Have a good flight?"

"Are you kidding? Airplane food always goes straight through me. How's mom?"

"Awake. And talking."

"Oh God. What did she tell you?"

"An interesting story about a paint bomb."

"You told her?!"

Both parties turned towards Gil Grissom, standing with his back pack while eying the couple in playful anger.

"Bro, I swear I didn't say anything. That experiment was just as embarrassing for me."

"'Embarrassing for you'? It was your idea!"

"How was I supposed to know that damn vacuum bag was gonna explode? I was 7!"

"Okay children, save it. Your mother is missing you both and Catherine is driving me nuts with questions as the team wasn't invited to the wedding. Now move your butts before I kick 'em into the car."

"Jeez you married a feisty one Gil."

Gil chuckled when Sara's hand smacked the back of Sully's head.

*********************

Greg called on their way to the apartment, informing them that of the 79 prints lifted from the motel room, most matched Olivia, and the others matched each other but no one in CODIS.

Sully was impressed by the various decorations and the influence that Sara had bestowed upon her brother's life. When Gil had announced his engagement to his mother and himself with a glowing expression on his face, they were both genuinely surprised. The heartbreak that had occurred in the man's earlier life had thrown Gil into his work, making them become strangely distant. To see his brother full of life and completely in love put a genuine smile on his face.

"We don't have a spare room so you'll have to crash on the couch. Sorry."

"It's cool. I'm used to roughing it anyway."

"The guys should be coming around in an hour, you want to grab a shower before they get here?"

"I might change my shirt but I should be good. 'Bout you Gil?"

"I'll grab one in a minute. Can I talk to you first Sara?"

"Gil, we're all adults here. If you wanna have sex with your wife, go have sex with your wife. Just try not to be too loud. I'm sure you have neighbors and I sure don't want listen to you."

With a cheeky grin on his face, Gil picked his wife up in his arms and ran to the bathroom, leaving Sully to listen to Sara's giggles.

Placing her feet firmly on the tiled floor, Sara lost her fingers in Gil's curls, bringing their lips into a passionate embrace, while his hands kneaded the flesh of her pert ass to which she moaned with enthusiasm. Tongues crept out to mate with the other, while clothes disappeared article at a time.

Gil blindly reached out and turned the shower on, testing the temperature while Sara kept her hands occupied with his balls.

"Jesus honey."

He took her hand and impatiently pulled her under the spray, pinning her against the wall.

"Let's never be apart this long again" Came a mumbled statement from her shoulder.

"The team will be here soon and Sully's in the other room."

Once again her feet left the floor, automatically wrapping around his waist, her husband's penis immediately penetrating her vaginal walls.

"We'll have to be quick then."

He set the slow, sluggish pace, driving himself into her repeatedly. Her teeth bit down into his shoulder as he picked up speed until their bodies were slamming into each other in a race to the finish line. He crushed his mouth against hers to muffle the screams of her orgasm, spilling his seed inside her.

Gil placed her feet back on the floor but held her close because his legs felt like jelly and he was certain hers did too.

"Well, that was fun."

Sara laughed wholeheartedly as they took turns washing each other until the water ran cold. They toweled down pressed back to back, knowing if they were looking, they were going to get carried away again. Sully was smirking when they reentered the kitchen, Sara's face red with laughter while Gil tickled her sides.

"Gil, knock it off."

"Not until you take it back."

"No!"

She keeled over, landing firmly on her backside.

"Leave the poor girl alone before she suffocates Gil."

"We'll finish this later. You want anything to drink?"

"I'll have some apple juice."

The trio were sat watching a movie on the flat screen when a knock on the door sounded. Noticing how comfortable the couple looked, cuddling on the loveseat, Sully pried himself from the couch and answered the door, coming across four people. People he'd never seen before, immediately smothered in a hug from the strawberry blonde.

"Erm...hi?"

"We were worried about you Gil."

"That's nice but...I'm not Gil."

Eight eyes looked from Sully at the door to Gil and Sara on the couch. Gil noticed the murderous look on Catherine's face. _Shit._

"Hey...guys."

"Care to explain your clone here Gil."

"He's not a clone. Guys...this is my identical twin brother Sully."

The look was still there. Gil turned to Sara.

"I'm a dead man aren't I?"


	4. Stories of old

_Sorry the lack of update but, due to unknown circumstances, I have been unable to get in touch with GSRgirlforever so you are once again stuck with my mistakes again. If it don't make sense, give me a buzz._

_GSRnutforever Out._

********************************

Eight cups of coffee and a dead arm (Gil's) later, the team and Brass were trying to understand how Sully's existence hadn't been mentioned before when the conversation somehow turned to his name.

"Its short for Sullivan. You know, Gilbert and Sullivan. Mom and Dad loved the show. They also had a sick sense of humor."

"Which they evidently passed on to you." Gil's remark earned him another punch in the arm, to which he retaliated with one of his own.

"Says the guy who thinks chicks dig racing cockroaches."

"I'm married aint I?"

"But I'm the one that cant be tied down remember?"

"What happened to Melissa? You came in practically bouncing, telling mom you'd found 'the one'?"

"I think she's Brad Pitts' newest stalker."

"Then there was Stacy, Riley, Krystal, Jessica..."

"Which one was Jessica again?"

"Thanksgiving, about five years ago. She managed to blow up the turkey."

"You had to bring her up?"

"Yep, you insulted my cockroaches and the team could do with a laugh. Every year, mom insists we come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was on my own, Sully here brings home a rather quirky red head. I left to pick up some last minute stuff from the supermarket, gone half an hour, tops. I pull into the drive and what I found wasnt normal, even by my standards.

"Sully looks tomato red, mom's on the verge of tears while beating Jessica over the head with a carrot. The explanation: Jessica somehow managed to blow up the turkey, taking half the kitchen with it."

The team was half way to the floor in hysterics by the time Gil was done embarrassing his brother.

"I never did figure out how she managed that."

"I hope you never do, mom still wont let any other female in the kitchen."

They shared stories for over an hour before everyone to leave in preparation for another shift. Having very little stocked, Gil called for pizza while they settle down to a Monty Python marathon on cable.

With much persuasion, Sara managed to get Gil and Sully's help to move the desk and place in a spare bed for their mother's release from hospital.

Once the furniture was sufficiently places more childhood tales were told. Despite the twins having high grades right through school, they actually caused a lot of trouble. But with them throwing the blame at each other and both having alibis when something happened, they were both virtually untouchable, each of the teachers having constant headaches courtesy of the pair.

"Eleventh grade we pulled off one of the finest stunts in the history of our school. The plan was to confuse our teacher Mr Jeffrey who was constantly failing us, claiming that we copied each others work and handed it in as our own."

"Which FYI wasn't true. Mr Jeffrey was a history teacher and half the time we weren't even writing about the same thing. Unless 17th Century Japan and World War Two are somehow related."

"All our teachers and everyone in our year, even mom was in on it. We were able to get away with it 'cause _nobody _liked the guy. My teachers had been marking me absent all day, but in reality I was hiding in the headmasters' office. When lunch came around, I was standing with Eric and his sister Francesca, which wasn't unusual cause we always hung out together. He walks through the door we are strategically stood. When Jeffrey steps outside, nothing unusual happens..."

"Until I walk passed with my arm around my girlfriend at the time Shelley. He thinks its normal until Shelley asks how Gil is feeling. He screws up his forehead and bursts back through the doors, finding Eric and Francesca but not Gil. Of course he asks but they tell him they haven't seen Gil cause he's ill and they were waiting for me and Shelley."

"Oh my God, that is priceless!" Sara was holding her sides against the stitch in her side.

"That even half of it. Last period was, of course, history to which I showed up late, with the excuse I'd been talking to Mr Ferguson about something I didn't understand in my homework. I got riled at and took Sully's seat, which was always by the open window."

"Two minutes later, Mr Ferguson knocks on the door, apologizes for the interruption, telling him pretty much what Gil had. Jeffrey tells him he knows. Ferguson asks 'who told you?', Jeffrey says 'Sully did.' Ferguson gives him a confused look and thats its impossible cause I've been with him the whole time. To exercise his point, I step into the classroom. His head turns back towards the desk to find its empty." Sara turned an eyebrow towards her husband.

"It was a single story building, I jumped out the window when his back was turned."

"Oh."

"So Jeffrey's stood there, looking like a right idiot, claiming that he _definitely _told Sully off earlier because he was late. Eric confirmed it, only he claimed he hadn't seen anyone enter the room, to which everyone backed up. I have never seen someone pail so quickly before. He went on medical leave and no one has seen him again."

"That is classic!"

"Whats worse is a reckon we could still pull it off."

An unmistakable glint in Sara's eye caught Gil's attention.

"Dont even think about it Sara."

"Come on Gil, it would be priceless to see his face."

"We cant. We were kids then, we could get in serious trouble now."

"Just think about okay? Anyone in the lab would this opportunity to their advantage."

"We'll talk about it later. Right now, we have to pick up mom."

Sara was still have mental images of her plan on the ride to the hospital. Her head nodded slightly with the beat of the radio, which Sully found amusing because Gil was unconsciously doing the same thing.

The hospital waiting room was quiet as they asked for Olivia Grissom's room and release papers. The moment they entered, hands were flying in angry sign language as to why her boys had failed to visit sooner.

Gil /_Glad to see you're feeling alright mom/_

Olivia /_Gilbert Grissom, I hope you have an explanation as to why your wife isn't wearing an engagement ring and why we were not invited/_

Gil _/She didn't want one and up until Sara called, I thought you didn't like to fly/_

Olivia _/I don't but it still doesn't stop me from seeing at least one of you getting married. I hope you brought my case dear, this gown is making me itchy/_

Sully _/I left it in the car. Sorry mom/ _

He raced back down to the parking lot, only to realize that he didn't have the keys. Luckily though, Gil was three feet behind him.

"Forgetting something?" He snuggly announced, dangling them on his finger.

"Smartass." Gil stepped in line with his brother and hit the button.

***************************

The bottom three floors of the hospital shook as a explosion erupted from the parking lot. Three burley security guys raced out to the source, coming across the flaming wreckage that was once a car and the unmoving bodies of Gilbert and Sullivan Grissom.


	5. Something's wrong

_After a small sabbatical, I am back, yet again! TAFE work took longer than expected and I'm doing research for a non-CSI book, but I'm trying. At least I know where this is going for once. All I ask is that you bear with me for a little while longer._

_Peace out people_

* * *

_/I really am glad Gil found you Sara, I've never seen my baby smile like he does with you. If only he wasn't so much like his father/_

_/You'll have to explain that one to me/_

_/I was an art student, Gil and Sully's father was a biology major. He was a senior and I a junior, which, in those days, was a fair age gap. He was apprehensive and it took almost the entire first semester, but he eventually asked me to dinner. We were inseparable until his brother came to town./_

_/What happened?/_

Olivia never answered as the foundation of the hospital suddenly shook with a loud boom that sounded like an explosion. Nick stumbled in moments later.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Nick, what the hell was that?"

"Dunno. The nurses are saying a bomb just went off in the parking lot."

"The parking lot?" The words hit Sara. Hard. "Shit!"

"What?" Nick was confused as to what had gotten Sara so riled.

"Gil and Sully were in the parking lot."

She said no more, taking off faster than Nick thought she was capable of before snapping out of his trance and following her. What greeted them could only be described as chaos.

A large fireball was raging where Gil's Denali _used_ to be while paramedics and doctors made their way around to each of the injured. One EMT in particular stood out.

"Hank!" The dirty blond looked up then back to the bloody teenager he was assisting. Instructing him to apply pressure to the flowing wound on his head, he jogged to where Nick and Sara stood.

"Are you okay?"

"No. Gil was down here when that bomb went off. Where is he?"

"I don't know. They were moving people inside when I got here."

"Oh my God."

One hand came up to cover her mouth as she threw her other one across her stomach in a vain attempt to prevent herself from throwing up. Nick gathered her hair away from her face while rubbing soothing circles into her back.

"Nick, what...what if..."

"Don't think like that okay? They're probably just inside trying to find you.

"I can't breathe."

Hank rushed over with a paper bag as Sara began to hyperventilate. Nick continued to attempt to reassure her that Gil and Sully were fine when Greg burst out the hospital doors and ran towards them.

"I found them."

* * *

Even after seeing Gil in a hospital bed shortly after the surgery that corrected his hearing, the sight that greeted Catherine seemed unreal. Both twins were pale, a small cut ran along Sully's right cheek and Gil's right hand was bandaged, having sprained it during the chaos. Both had concussions, Gil's slightly more serious than Sully's. All they could do was wait until both of them woke up.

Brass gently dropped his hand on to her shoulder, which she covered with her own. No words were exchanged as they both watched over their friend and his brother with the utmost concern.

Nick and Hank stumbled in, half carrying a rather pale looking Sara, setting her down on the plastic chairs that lined the room. Hank was immediately shoved aside as Brass and Catherine looked her over.

"Cookie, what's wrong?"

"She had a panic attack in the parking lot."

"God" Was Catherine's gasp.

"Sara, they're alright. They both have a concussion and Gil sprained his wrist but they're both fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" Brass took her hand and led her to the window where the twins were yet to move. The hand not being held slowly rose, placing it against the glass. Brass watched in silence, knowing she needed to take her time. She suddenly came back to reality and walked in and took a seat at her husband's side, Catherine reappearing at Brass's.

"Why does this keep happening to them Jim? They never did anything wrong."

"I wish I knew Catherine."

* * *

_Thump, thump, thump. "_Ow."

"Hey Sully." came a whispered reply.

"Turn the light off." All he got in return was a soft chuckle. Opening his lids slowly, his hazy blue eyes fell upon a familiar cop and strawberry blond.

"I'm either dead or in trouble." A large hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Neither mate."

"I'm never _not _in trouble if I wake up in hospital. Though I don't actually remember waking up."

"It's never a good thing when the brother of a law enforcement employee says that." Sully suddenly turned serious.

"Is Gil okay?"

The only reply he got was two head nudges to the left. Gil lay on his back under the white sheets, Sara lay beside him, curled into his side with her head resting on his shoulder and an arm draped across his stomach.

"We're still waiting for him to wake up. He hit his head pretty hard."

The door slowly opened, the bleach blond head of Hank poking through. The image of his ex-girlfriend with another man was obviously uncomfortable for him, but Catherine couldn't care less. _Bastard deserves to see her happy after what he did. _Then again, she'd been thinking that about Grissom when Sara and Hank had first gotten together.

The tension between the pair was painfully obvious but no one commented, in fear it would start an argument and wake Sara. Hank's eyes fluttered over each individual in the room, coming to rest on the gold band on the brunette's left hand.

He knew, even then. He may have been cheating on Sara physically, but she'd been cheating emotionally, even _before _they'd met.

Something was wrong.

Gil's face was screwed up in pain. Hank glanced over at his IV.

It was the wrong color.

"The hell?"

He raced to his bed side, shaking Sara awake while hurriedly pressing the call button.

"Huh?"

"Sara you need to move." A nurse rushed in as Hank physically picked Sara up and moved her.

"What's the problem?"

"I think someone's been tampering with Gil Grissom's IV."


	6. Memories that remain

_More technical issues on my part. I apologize once again. Next chapter may take a while as I'm driven myself into a hole in regards to the story line. Thanks to GSRgirlforever as always. May she never get bored of waiting for me to finish my multi-chapter stories that take me forever to write._

_Personally, I think the end is a little OC. You tell me._

_Please?_

* * *

Tense was the only word Hank could think of to describe the mood surrounding the group crowding the waiting room. Brass had a fatherly arm around Sara's shoulders, Catherine had her head resting on Nick's shoulder while he tenderly stroked her forearm, Greg looked lost and Ray didn't know what to do with himself.

The last Hank had seen Sully was when they had pulled the curtain across, separating the brothers and throwing him into a depressive, anti-social state. As far as he knew, Olivia was unaware of the possible grave situation one of her sons was in.

Just when he was sure he'd suffocate from the tension clouded atmosphere, the attending doctor emerged. He took a swift look around the group, knowing the answer before asking the question. He recognized the EMT immediately, but put his curiosity to rest. There were more important matters at hand. Being the only one wearing a wedding band that was compulsively and unconsciously being swiveled around her finger.

"Mrs. Grissom?"

The brunette's head looked up at him, desperate for any news on her husband. With a shrug of his head, the doctor attempted to lead her away, but her shake told him she trusted the people around her.

"I'm happy to say that your husband was seriously medicated and if Hank hadn't spotted it, it may have been worse. His IV has been changed to an untainted one and we have managed to flush the drugs out of his system. Someone from your crime lab has taken it back with him, so we should be hearing back on what drug was used. We'll keep him here for observation."

As if Henry could hear them all the way from the Crime Lab, the doctor's pager beeped. The look on his face was not a pleasant one as he mumbled one word.

"Tetracycline."

"Tetracycline? Isn't that an antibiotic?" came Greg's question.

"It's also used to induce migraines. You'd never give it to someone with a concussion."

"What about known migraine sufferers?" Sara's voice was so quiet, they almost missed it.

"Then whoever did this meant business. If the IV had gone unnoticed any longer, they could have put him into a coma."

A kind of sob unconsciously left Sara lips. Brass pulled her closer while Catherine disappeared against Nick's neck. The doctor telling Sara she could spend a few moments with her husband barely registered until Brass was helping her to her feet and guiding her down the corridor.

* * *

Sully was released from hospital the following morning and, as predicted, he spent the day floating between his mother and his brother. The nurse had gotten tired of asking him and Sara to leave, instead setting Sara up a cot and sneaking in Subway sandwiches until her patient woke up.

The first thing the foggy blue eyes focused upon was the pail brunette curled in a ball less than a foot away from his bed while the nurse was checking on his progress.

"Welcome back Mr. Grissom. That family of yours has been real worried about you." came her soft voice, as not to startle him too much.

"My head hurts." He said groggily.

"You've been unconscious for two days with a concussion. I'll alert the doctor to your progress and you may be getting out of here pretty soon." His eyes once again traveled to his wife.

"How long has Sara been here?"

"Your wife? Since you were brought in. She was really scared for you and your brother. Three family members in two days isn't exactly common around here. Then again, neither is a bomb in the parking lot."

"At least tell me she's been eating properly."

He's just woken up after two days and he's worried that the wife has been eating? Why couldn' t I have married this guy?

"Three meals. Don't worry, we've been looking after her. I'll go inform your mob in the waiting room that you're awake."

"Could you ask that they keep quiet if they come in? Sara looks like she hasn't slept for a while."

She could tell by the way he spoke that he was very much in love with his wife and left without another word, first finding Doctor Martel then the mostly unconscious group flooding the waiting room. The only people to move were the patient's brother and mother. The strawberry blond was still curled against the male brunette, the detective and the lost looking CSI simply sat in silence.

* * *

/_You sure know how to make me worry Gilbert/_

/Nice to know you're well mother/

"Don't worry bro, I got the same speech. How you holding up?"

"My head's killing me. Other than that, pretty good considering. 'Bout you?"

"Been better. I can't stand hospitals, not after-"Sully cut off mid-sentence, but Gil understood. It was an event neither liked to speak of, even after so many years. Any further attempt to make conversation was disrupted when a slight groan sounded from the bed next to them, indicating Sara had finally woken from her slumber.

"Morning honey."

"Go to hell Gilbert." She grumbled before shooting up in realization. "Gil?"

"Hey."

"How long have you been awake?" She then turned to hit Sully's shoulder. "Why the hell didn't you wake me up?"

"Why are you hitting me? He's the one who told me not to!"

Gil and Olivia continued to watch the interaction with amusement until the doctor kicked her and Sully out to give Gil a quick check for any permanent damage.

"You're looking good. Just try to avoid wetting your bandage if you can help it and I'll see you in two weeks for a check-up."

For Gil, he couldn't get out of the hospital fast enough. It wasn't until they were on their way to the apartment Sara remembered something.

"What did Sully mean?" Catching Gil's confused look, she elaborated. "He said he couldn't stand hospital's then cut off. I thought he was an EMT."

"EMT's ride around in an ambulance all day, they're not required to spend more than a few minutes in a hospital."

"You're avoiding the question."

"I know." Followed by an uneasy silence. It wasn't until she parked the car that he started again. "Remember that day I came back and told you I couldn't swim and I thought it was my dad."

"Yeah."

"It wasn't until afterwards that I remembered something he told me. In the three days I was unconscious, he never left my side, willing for me to wake up. I don't think I ever saw him cry before. Him and mom sat holding each other. Mom had fallen asleep on his shoulder, like nothing had happened and I couldn't understand why. He saw me looking at them and tried to reach out but I moved away cause I thought he was going to hurt me again. I didn't speak to him the whole time I was in there. I didn't speak to anyone.

"We were driving home, and when we pulled up outside, there were police cars parked in our drive. They were dragging a screaming man out of our house and the first thing I did was grab my dad's hand.

"I recognized the man cause he looked like my dad. He looked at me, with the same glare in his eyes as he had when he kicked me into the pool. It was only then that I realized my mistake. The man they arrested was a monster and a drunk, but he wasn't my father. All I remember was clinging to my dad's shirt and not letting go.

"At least, until the EMT's came out running with Sully on a trolley..."

Silent tears ran down Gil's cheeks as he became lost in the memory.

"The bastard had locked him under the sink for the entire time I was in hospital. No food, no water. It nearly killed him. The police found my Uncle Terry in the basement with the dead dog. While dad took me to get something to eat, he explained that the man was his twin brother Malcolm.

"We got a page saying that Sully had woken up. Only Malcolm was there, holding a pillow over his face while he screamed for mom and dad. Without thinking, I ran and bit him on the back of his leg but he kicked me off. I don't remember what happened but someone had trodden repeatedly on my arm and snapped it in three places.

"Now I'm a Crime Scene Investigator who can't swim and hates hospital visits."

"It doesn't make a difference to me."

"Doesn't it? I saw the way you looked at me in Costa Rica. Every time someone mentioned going to the waterfall for a swim, you'd give me a guilty glance, don't say you didn't because I caught you more than once. I don't want _that_ look following me, I don't need pity."

"I wasn't trying to-" Sara tried desperately to reason with him but Gil had already jumped from the car and began running. "GIL! GIL!"

All she could do was watch as he disappeared into the distance as the clouds opened their gates.

"Please come back."


	7. Stay away from us

_Its taken me two hours but I finally finished retyping this as Word is being bitchy and wont cooperate. I refuse to pay $109 (Australia) to get it installed properly when I dont have a CD drive in my laptop._

_SPOILERS: Nesting Dolls and Iced. It also ties in with my Iron Man fic 'Best Mistake'. Its not essential to read but I'd feel happier of you did._

* * *

"_Sara where are you? Your car's outside but no one's answering the door."_

"I can't find him Sully."

"_Find who?"_

"Gil. We were talking in the car when he got upset and took off."

She could have sworn that she heard him whisper _dammit _before being swattered by his mother for his use of language. Under any other ciecumstances, she may have found it funny.

"_Ok...ok...don't panic. Come back to the car and we'll figure something out."_

"I'm worried Sully."

_"Me too Sara. Me too."_

_************_

She hadn't spoken in ten minutes and Greg was worried. After grouping and deciding to break into smaller parties, Greg had elected to stay with Sara. She'd had a hunch on where he would be but since relaying the information to the team, she hadn't said a word.

The light of the full moon shone spectaculary over the open field of green grass. A slide and swing set stood in the middle, a lone figure sat gently rocking on said swing, staring absently into the nearby pond.

Even from the distance they were stood at, Sara could see the slouch of his back and the slight shaking of his shoulders that he was upset. Against his own will, he'd done something he hadn't in years. He'd pushed her away. The pressure of his past was weighing down on him harder than anything else and the cracks were already starting to show.

A glance at Greg told her he'd already figured out that she needed to talk to him alone.

Without a second thought, Sara approached her husband, taking a seat on the swing next to his. She knew he needed space to talk and she was more than willing to wait, but whatever was eating at him was hurting her to watch.

"I'm sorry." Neither turned as he spoke. "I overreacted. I'm just...I don't know what to do."

"I shouldn't have pushed. I never meant to upset you."

The silence between them was almost deafening.

"You once asked if I thought there was a murder gene."

"You said you didn't think that genes were a predictor of violent behavior."

"Given everything that's been happening, I'm not so sure anymore."

"I know you don't believe that. just because had a violent uncle, that doesn't make you a bad person."

"He's tried to kill me twice before Sara." The look was back. "Mom knew where we all were. There was no _reason _for her to be in Vegas. Not unless someone specifically asked her to."

"You think Malcolm called her?"

"Why else wouldn't she say anything? She's worried that me and Sully will go after him."

"That still doesn't explain why she came. If Natalie called to play catch-up, would you go?"

They both knew that she was toeing over _that _invisible line but she was right.

"I know you're right, but whatever is happening here is driving me nuts and I just want to get to the bottom of it."

She reached over, gently squeezing his fingers as they continued to watch the moon's reflection.

* * *

The apartment was flooded by the time Gil and Sara wondered back in. By the looks on their faces, everyone knew to leave the topic alone, but they had managed to sort it out. In a few short moments, each oppucant was in possession of a cup of some sort while Greg explained the theory of the exploda-potty.

"Where was I when this happened?"

"Court."

"Why do I always miss the good stuff?"

"You probably blown up the _building _Gil."

"I saw six and I only effected the garage."

"You killed my hamster!"

"You left his cage open, not me. And what exactly happened to my goldfish?"

Seeing that their argument was getting nowhere, Olivia smacked both her sons on the back of the head, while the rest of the group sniggered. Seeing their former boss act and feel like a teenager again was something they never thought they'd see.

A knock on the door broke up the party. Gil unraveled himself from the comfort of Sara's arms and answered it.

The smile faded from his lips, replaced by a deep fire in his ocean blue eyes. As her husband and his companion disappeared into the corridor, Sara started to worry all over again.

*******************

"What the hell do you want?"

"To talk."

"You wavered that right after you tried to kill me. The first time."

"All I want is a few minutes to explain-"

"All I want is for you to leave me and my family alone."

"I'm family too Gil."

"The only thing we have common is that you _happen_ to look like my father. Now, in my apartment is a police captain who I am _very _good friends. Leave now or I bring him out here."

"At least tell Sully and Ginny that I said hi."

With one final glance, his mystery guest left...

* * *

_There is the tie in my IM fic 'Best Mistake'. I now get to spend the better part of tomorrow trying to match up the phone conversations, on top of work._

_Joy, joy!_


	8. Ginny

_Not entirely certain this is my best work. Half of this was written while barely concious but I strungled through, just for y'all cause you're awesome._

_I've spent the past three hours syncing up Pepper's end of the conversation from 'Best Mistake' and I pray that it makes sense. If you haven't read it, dont panic, I was kind enough to include both sides plus the beginning that Tony missed._

_Offers a tiny bit of insight into the Grissom/Potts history. And may get Gil into trouble._

* * *

This was not happening.

He'd tried to put _that _part of his past behind him when his mother had met and married Sean Potts. Against all odds, two years later, Virginia Elizabeth Potts came into the world, bright red hair and all. Young Gil and Sully had taken to their roles as big brothers better than expected after relocating to London until the twins went their seperate ways for college. Now everything was falling dangerously around them and Gil was at a loss as to how he was going to keep Ginny out of it.

_Oh crap!_

He poaked his head through the front door, missing the fact that everyone was now looking at him.

"Sully, did you call Ginny?" Gil eyed his brother. While everyone had a "Who the hell is Ginny?" face, Sully had a "Oh shit." expression.

"I thought you did." Now they were sharing a "We are so dead" look. Gil frantically shut the door, pulling out his cell and dialling as quickly as humnaly possible.

"_Pepper Potts speaking."_

"When the hell did you become Pepper?"

"_Gil? Or Sully, I cant tell."_

"Its Gil." He could hear her shuffling about followed by a door clicking shut. "How..er...how are you?"

"_Since my billionaire boss told the world of his alter-ego? So busy I've forgotten what sleep is."_

"I seem to remember you lecture _me _about that more than once."

"_Don't you dare try to be the innocent party here Gil. I'm still not talking to you after you decided to marry the girl of your dreams and didnt invite me."_

_"_I _eloped _Ginny. You know I hate big, fancy things. If you _really _ want to kill, feel free to join the back of the cue."

"_I'm cue jumping. I'm not sure I can leave Tony alone for too long or he'll probably burn the house down."_

"Then you'll probably strangle me over the phone when I tell you this." He took a long, deep breathe before continuing on. "Mum was attacked in Vegas._"_

_"Oh my God....is she okay? And why do I feel like there's somthing you're not telling me."_

"A lot has happened in the last few days Ginny, we could be talking for a while and please don't get angry....someone, presumably the same person, then blew up my car and tried to spike my IV."

_"...Why shouldn't I be angry? IYou /Ishould called three days ago when you found out..."_

"None of the Vegas night shift even knows you we're related."

"_Sara obviously got hold of you, it's not like I was out of reach."_

"Sara was onje of the CSIs on the case and I never know where you are."

"_You knew damn well where I was"_

"I called you in Malibu. Some English guy told me you in were in DC"

Ginny sighed.

"_Is everyone alright?_"

"I sprained my wrist and Sully and mum are a little banged up but otherwise we're all fine. It's a long shot, but do you think you could maybe get some time off."

_"I'll try but I'm not guanateeing anything"_

_"_Dangle a blonde in front of him"

"_Gilbert!" _Gil chuckled at the use of his full name.

"It'll keep him distracted..."

"_I'm going to crack you when I get to Vegas" _All she could do was listen to his chuckle. "_Should I book at a hotel before or when I get there?"_

"You can stay with me and Sara."

"_I've seen your apartment Gil, there's no where for me to sleep."_

_"_I have a perfectly good couch just for you. It's new and Sully thinks it's comfy."

"_I'm not screwing up my back on that thing, I don't care how comfy Sully _says_ it is_"

"What did he do?"

"_Last time I listened to him Michael Pencroft tried to kiss me"_

_"_Come on Ginny, you have to admit, it was funny"

"_It was not!"_

"It was and you know it."

"_I was six, I didn't need that kind of trauma"_

_"_Word has it he did actually kiss you though."

"_Yes, and I recall breaking his nose in front of my entire senior class_."

"I didn't think you were capapable of such violence." Ginny's giggle made him smile brighter than Sara had only seen twice before. Their engagement and wedding. "_I'd better go. I'll call you when I find out"_

_"_I love you Ginny."

"_I love you too."_

_"_Bye."

_"Bye_."

"Gilbert Arthur Grissom, are you cheating on me?"


	9. High tops and Nicknames

_Here's two chapters in one to make up for not finishing chapter 8 yesterday. I also have a oneshot based on the end of the book which is really bugging me, especially after just reading an interview on it from the actors. Gwyneth Paltrow said it was slightly wierd shooting but I'll say no more unless you really want me to._

_This could be really short but without word count, I cant be certain. I also feel that this is going down hill slightly but until Tony shows up. It's pretty much all inprvized noncience (thats spell wrong I know)_

* * *

_"Gilbert Arthur Grissom are you cheating on me?"_

Gil's jaw dropped in astonishment at his wife's statement.

"What? No...why would even think that?"

"What I am supposed to think? I just heard you say _I love you _to someone who isn't me or your mother."

"I'm not allowed to say I love you to my sister?"

"Your....how many siblings are you hiding Gil?"

"Technically she's only my half-sister, but unless mum is hiding people in the closet, it's just me, Sully and Ginny. In that order." Sara sighed. "I know that you hate it when I don't tell you things, but there's every chance that if mum's attack and my car blowing up are related, there's every chance that the person behind this knows _everything _about me, including Sully and Ginny. I'll never forgive myself if something happens to them."

Sara wrapped her arms around Gil's waist, allowing his head to drop on to her shoulder. They stood in their embrace for several moments, Gil placing a kiss on her neck as they pulled apart.

*****************

With the team at work, Sully picking up pizza and Olivia retired in the spare room, Sara placed a cup of tea on the coffee table and listened with intense amusement to the conversation Gil was having on the phone with Ginny.

"Don't tempt me Ginny. I'm serious."

_"If I swear flats, I'll get used to them and my heels will start giving me blisters again." _

"Suck it up Ginny. Not even Catherine's allowed and she's my best friend, next to Sara of course. And what about them high tops I sent you last year?"

"_You are such a bully_."

"And you're such a girl. I'll wear mine if you wear yours_."_

"_You of all people own a pair of Converse high tops_?"

"They're blue._"_

"_Sara bully you into buying them?_"

"They're actually my third pair. I wore my second for our first date._"_

"_Aren't you romantic?_"

"I try. How's getting time off going?_"_

_"He's coming with me._"

"...Iron Man wants to spend time with your family?_"_

"_I stopped trying to figure out how his mind works years ago. Its easier to deal with him._" _BEEP. _"_Speak of the devil. I'll call you back in a minute. Love you_."

"Love you too._"_

Gil looked down at his phone for a moment before looking at Sara, who was equally confused

"Did...you just say that Iron Man wants to spend time with us? As in _Tony Stark, _Iron Man?"

"Sounded like that to me."

"Your little sister knows Tony Stark?"

"Better than that...she's his personal assistant."

"Holy....your little Pepper Potts?"

"Crazy isn't it?" Gil watched his wife's face. "You've got your CSI look. You know something."

"Someone actually. Pepper Potts was my room mate in college. I gave her her nickname


	10. Pepperony!

_This is where the fun begins. You get a little insight into how Pepper got her name, some friendly banter and a reference to SilverHeart09's list of 50 things Tony Stark is not allowed to do, based purely on the fact that the list is so totally AWESOME!!!_

_This is last you'll hear from me til Friday. I just realized what a lucky bugger I am. I have tickets to see Iron Man. TOMORROW!!!! I'll write a review and post it my livejournal page, maybe tomorrow, definately Friday._

_Happy reading._

The kink in her neck told Pepper she probaby taken up Tony on his offer to borrow the jet, bt then he would have brought the suit to Vegas. Tony insisted he wouldn't but Happy regused to fly so, five hours and 3 coffee breaks later, she was pulling her Audi up next to a restored 87 Camara Z28 (_I spend WAY too much time with Tony)_ in a large hooded sweater she thought she'd lost years ago, her _only_ pair of jeans which were slightly baggy against her slim frame and, as per requested, an almost new pair of bright high top converse sneakers. She could have killed Gil for his color choice.

Spending a quick text to let her brothers know that she had arrived, she leant her car and took her first deep breathe of Nevada air. Her phone conversation marded with her still conflicting emotions toward her boss and she failed to notice her company until Sully had her in the air with his srms around her waist, spinning her round until she threatened to kick him. Placing her on the floor, he took her in for a proper hug.

"You need to take more vacations Ginny, I haven't seen you in ages."

"I'm the PA of an idiot that calls himself a superhero. I'm lucky if I make it back to my apartment."

"Move it Sullivan, she's my baby sister too."

"Can it Gilbert."

"Play nice you two. I did not drive five hours to listen to your bickering." When Pepper pulled away from her embrace with Gil, she then proceeded to punch his arm. "Next time you run off and get married without me, I'll do more than punch you."

"I'm not planning on another wedding cause I'm not planning to screw it up. How's the er...not boyfriend?"

"Still not my boyfriend. Now quit stalling, I'd like to meet the woman who finally got you out of the lab."

"Really? Cause...rumor has it, you already know each other." Even Sully looked confused by that.

"I thoought you were supposed to be a smart-arse." Her red hair flicked over her shoulder as she turned to the brunette behind her.

"Sara?"

"Hey Pepperony."

'Pepperony?' Sully mouthed to Gil. 'Later' as the two friends rambled on in a language known only to women.

"Ok, so when we were in college, freshman year, we were room mates. I was studing sociology, Sara was doing forensic science so we didn't have much in common."

"Until Pepper walked in on me playing my music a little too loudly. Turns out we had more in common than originally thought."

"Whats with 'Pepperony' though?"

"Your darling baby sister used to have an abnormal obessession with pepperony whether it be in sandwiches or on pizza. Don't look innocent in this Gil, you used to as well."

"Only when I was teaching. And I've kicked the habit."

"It's official. I'm the only sane one left in the family." Three cushions flew strategically at his head.

"What are you doing now Gil?"

"Teaching. In France. You should go some time."

"As if, my french is horrible."

_This is Iron Man calling Pepper Potts. I'm probably causing myself or someone else physical harm so please pick up. _The rest of her family sniggered as she grungily answered her phone.

"Mr Stark."

"Don't start that again."

"Number 12."

"I swear, I haven't touched a single pair of your trousers."

"That's not it."

"Landing on the roof in the armor?"

"Try again."

"Leaving rude messages in your inbox?"

"You changed my ringtone Tony."

"I thought that was 32."

"32 is giving me decaf."

"I really should read that list again."

"Why did you call Tony?"

"_I fixed. I'm not dying anymore. I was going to come to Vegas....If you still want me to. Happy really wants to go to Vegas."_

"Where are you? And if you say in the suit, I am hanging up."

"_Relax, we're taxiing on the runway. Gareth says we'll there in an hour."_

_"_You landing at McCarren?"

"_Yep."_

_"_I'll see you in an hour. And Tony?"

"_Yes Pepper?"_

_"_Please try to behave yourself."

_"I'm not making any promises."_

"Why do I get the feeling that this was a really bad idea?"

"I'm starting to think the same thing."

"You just wanted to let him show off his car."

"You didn't stop him Pep._"_ Sully charged into the room, turning on the television.

"You really need to see this."

_"We are reporting from McCarren airport, where moments ago, a gun battle between unknown personnel broke out at the prviate terminal. We have been given exclusive footage of the break."_

A speeding red Camara did a perfect 180, its driver clambering through the passanger door to hide behind it, two men in the plane coming behind as well. They disappeared for several moments, before two of them made a mad dash aspt the gap behind a stack of cases. The man left behind the car was returning fire until he fell, one of the pair running back to his aid. A flash of red and silver shot to the right then straight up. The film then cut back to the studio.

"_The identities of those involves are still unknown, but we will bring you updates as this story developes. In other news..."_


	11. Under fire

_I felt lonely when no one but SilverHeart09 reviewed Chapter 10 so I'm dedicating this to you. :) I've done it before though. I always have the ending stuck in my head with no idea how to get there._

_Even though no one said it, I know you're all DIEING to know what was going on with the news report was I'm filling you in, plus you'll see how Sara isn;t dealing with it. There may be another chapter later today, if not, definately tomorrow. There's a bunch of shit going on with my brother and the dickheads that are Immagration and if all goes badly, he gets kicked out of Australia, my parents have to go with him and I have to decide whether to go with them. The decision isnt as simple as it sounds. Five years ago definately...._

_Enough of my rant, enjoy and I'm sorry for the delay. If you havent seen Iron Man 2 yet, you are obviously living in a cave or some far away planet and missing out._

_:)_

Pepper was slowly turning a dangerous shade of green and Sully had to catch Sara as her knees gave out, pulling them all back to reality.

"Sara, you need to breathe okay?"

She was visibly shaking, her eyes unfocused and the pair were worried.

"Hey, everything's gonna be alright." Impulsively he went to bring his hand up to her cheek, but in a shocking move, she batted it away and ran into her room. "What did I do?"

"You're her husband's identical twin brother, what do you think you did?"

_Thirty minutes earlier._

"When she said don't come in the suit, I think she meant 'leave _all _things Iron Man at home' sir."

"And I've told you, call me 'sir' one more time while we're in Vegas and your ass is looking for another job. Where is Pepper?"

"She called while you were in the bathroom. Her brother wanted to show off the car that him and his wife rebuilt together." Tony suddenly seemed intreged by his assistant's sibling.

"Did she say what kind of car?"

Happy never got the chance to open his mouth, something quick and metallic banging against the plane. Happy practically threw himself and Tony on to the ground behind the cases, calling the number Pepper had provided frantically.

_"Grissom."_

"I dont want to alarm you, but we're being shot at."

"_Give me two seconds."_

Any confusion in Happy's mind turned to alarm when a speeding red car gunned towrds them, doing a flawless one-eighty and haulting a few meters away. As the driver scrabbled through the passenger door, Happy grabbed the back of Tony's shirt collar and dragged him to meet their possible saviour.

"You dont half know how to make an entrance Stark."

"Are you kidding me? For once I used the back door!"

"Can we argue about this later?"

Happy pulled the gun from the bulge in his jacket that Tony had only just noticed.

"How the hell did you get a gun passed sercurity?"

"I work for you. Can we please talk later?"

"Where's the football?" Happy pointed to where they'd previously been hiding.

"I'll get him. Can you cover?" Hogan nodded. "1...2...3"

Tony was once again being dragged the short distance. He immediately grabbed on to the red and silver suitcase. Turning back to Happy, they both watched in horror as he fell backward, clutching his side as blood oozed between his fingers.

"Happy!"

"Get that armor on, I'll make sure he doesn't bleed out." Pepper's brother ran to the chaffuer's aid. Tony got his head back in check and punched the case, where it started to form the Mark IV. His helmet was just closing over his head when he heard a cry of pain and the stranger calling his name. Praying the repulsors would have enough power to get them to safety, he darted back behind the car, grabbed both men and shot toward the sky, out of harms way.


	12. Trying to Hide

_I'm trying to break out of the habit of shortening the length of each chapter, the last being a mere 500 words. With Word being bitchy, I can only pray this is longer._

_I'd intended to do this chapter in two parts, Pepper and Sara's, Happy, Gil and Tony's. It didnt work out. Its also possible that you are getting this chapter because I left my wallet in my locker at work and cant retrieve until tomorrow. You lucky buggers! I'll warn you now though, if I dont see reviews, I'll assume you;ve all stopped reading and stop writing. I know, its hard, I have trouble myself, but if I dont know that people like what I'm writing I get the nagging feeling that I'm a shit writer and no one cares. Which is very depressing. I'm also attempting to wirte a non-ff book which I'll post on WeBook when I have a few chapters together for y'al to check out._

_SPOILERS: Mentions of Living/Dead Doll and Iron Man 1, but nothing too serious_

_Enjoy_

_:-)_

It had been a long hour, Sully having left after clearly upsetting Sara. Pepper felt a cold prang in her heart. The possibility of losing Gil could quite possibly have the potential of tearing her family apart, not to mention losing Tony as well. It was Afghanistan all over again, only Happy and Obadiah weren't here this time.

Thoughts of Happy Hogan were unfortunately overruled by Stane's betrayal, memories of a machine gun pointed at her head sending heavy shivers down her spine.

Sara had pulled on a large sweater with the hood pulled up, covering her face as she shuffled into the kitchen. Silently (in heels it was something she'd never accomplish) Pepper made her way down the steps, watching Sara's hands shake uncontrolably until she had to take the cup away and place it on the counter.

"Sara?"

No receiving an answer, Pepper hesitantly raised her hand, gently pushing back the hood, causing Sara to look up. Her eyes were red and swollen, the tell-tale streaks of tears still evident on her cheeks, and, for a brief moment, Pepper wondered if she was seeing a reflection of herself almost a year ago when Happy had found her curled up on the lab floor shortly after finding out that Tony was missing. Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arms around the distressed woman. They stayed there for several moments until a knock at the door broke them apart.

"Take a seat Sar, I'll get it." The Sara she knew in college would have put up a fight, but her sister-in-law was too weak to argue, curling into a ball at one end of the couch on the upper floor. At the door was a broad shouldered man, somewhere in his late fifties with a serious buzz cut. "Can I help you?"

"Is Sara here? I'm Captain Brass with the Las Vegas Police Department."

"Let him in Pep." Came the muffled response from over her shoulder. They gave each other a quick look before making their way over to her. While Pepper took the cushion next to her, Brass decided to sit on the coffee table, taking her fragile hand in his larger one.

"It's not good, is it Jim?" Brass shook his head.

"The car's plate came back to Gil. There's also the possibilty that...someone was shot. Until the lab can run DNA, we don't know whose it is."

"What do you know Jim. And screw lab policy, Pepper may need to hear this as well."

"The car is Gil's so we're assuming he was the driver. Flight manifests say the plane was owned by Tony Stark." He rattled off from his notes.

"He's my employer. He was supposed to come down with me but something came up in Malibu. That's why I drove."

"And who are you?"

"Pepper Potts."

"_The _Pepper Potts? Damn Cookie, you've sure got friends in high places."

"She's actually my sister-in-law."

"_You're _Gil's little sister?"

"Crazy huh?"

"Jim."

"Any way, we're having a few problems. We know Mr Stark was on the flight. We also know that he had a passenger, but with it being privately owned and the owner missing, we don't know who the other person was." Pepper leant forward on to her knees, head in her hands, muffling her speech slightly.

"I thought he was joking."

"Miss Potts?" Her moved her hands, resting her chin on them.

"Harold Hogan. The other passenger is Harold Hogan. H-O-G-A-N. Tony called me before I left, told me Happy was coming. I didn't for a second think that he was being serious."

"Is there anyone that you know of that we can contact?"

"I don't think so. Tony's parents died when he was seventeen and as far as I know, Happy was an only child."

"I know this is hard, but is there any way for us to get a DNA sample?"

"Obadiah Stane gave a sample to the army when Tony went missing in Afghanistan. I'd have to contact someone at Stark Industries for Happy."

"If you can provide a contact number, I'll have someone do that for you. Will you be staying in town?" All she did was nod. Brass took note that at some point, Sara had reached over and taken hold of Pepper's hand in nothing more than a friendly manner. He said his fairwells and left.

"Its Afghanistan all over again."

"Feels like Natalie all over again. Only in reverse."

Pepper didn't need an explaination for that one. It was all over the news, but all that was revealed was that a CSI had gone missing and with no ID, Pepper hadn't paid it any notice.

Until Gil rang in a panic, ranting that some psyco bitch had kidnapped his girlfriend, but that's all that seemed to make sense. It broke her heart. He'd called the week before, telling her all about the woman he was seeing, asking for advise because he was goddamn sure she was the one and he was gooing to ask her to marry him.

Sara laid her head on her friends shoulder and Pepper was beginning to wonder if anyone in their family was supposed to have a happy ending.


	13. Pleading for help

_This chapter is a total load of crap and I hate that it took me so gaddamn long to write. I'm officially out of ideas as to how to get this to the place I want it to be and my little bro is still insisting on stealing my laptop so I had to finish this quickly. My writing skills are slowly being flushed down the toilet. I may write so more one-shots while I attempt to figure this out._

_(.................) _

Happy was unconcious, the suits power wasn't the best and running out quickly and Tony was certain that if they didnt find somewhere out of sight to land, his shoulders would dislocated symultaniously and he would drop both of his passangers. Pepper would _never _forgive him for that one. Her brother was attempting to help with Happy's dead weight while still holding on. He was still unsure as to which brother he'd picked up but, judging by the wedding band he'd spotted at the airport, he'd have a guess and say Gil. For some reason he looked familiar though.

It was a further ten minutes before they found an abandoned warehouse to stop in with just enough power to get the Mark IV back into the shape of a suitcase while Gil tried his best to help Happy.

"Is he going to be alright?" Gil carefully untucked Happy's shirt, pushing back memories as he inspected the wound.

"Just a graze. He's lucky though, any deeper and it could have hit something and he would have bled out. I just need something to cover it so it won't get infected."

Tony searched his pockets while he spoke. "Are you a doctor?"

"In physics. I worked in a morgue for a while though."

"You like dead people?"

"I like _puzzles_." Gil corrected. "People kill each other all the time, I like figuring out how." He shifted his head slightly. "I used to."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

"Someone on our side turned against us. He killed someone close to me."

"Shit." He whispered. "Been there before. I lost my father's best friend." The men were silent for a moment. "You just saved our asses and don't even know who you are."

"Gil Grissom. And, if you'll believe it, Ginny's older brother. Or one of them." Happy groaned in pain at the pressure Gil was applying to his wound. "Sorry. I need you to stay still before you _do_ bleed out."

"Then don't press so damn hard."

"I'm trying to stop the bleeding, I have to press hard."

"Knock it off."

"Sorry." They answered together.

They were silent for nearly half an hour, with Happy propped against makeshift pillows made from their jackets. Gil had found an old tv and was attempting to make it work again, while Tony tried to get the Mark IV arc reactor to charge.

"There. No, take it back to the right. There, stop. Stop, stop, stop."

"Blood pressure down. There's a reason you're still laid down."

"Bite me."

_"Earlier we reported a shoot-out at McCarren airport. The police investigation has brought about new evidence. We now cut to Las Vegas PD."_ Captain James Brass stood at the podium, various camera flashes and mics being shoved in his direction. Gil couldn't help but notice how stressed he looked. Slightly blurred off in the back, he could make out Pepper's red hair and Sara's form. From the looks of it, they were holding hands; a form of support in a desperate time.

"Earlier today, an unknown number of suspects engaged in a gun battle in McCarren's private sector. We can now identify who we believe were the targets of the attack." Brass paused briefly, taking a quick glance over his shoulder before continuing. "We believe that Tony Stark and his chaffuer, Harold Hogan were on the plane that was stationed at the terminal. We can also conclude that Dr. Gilbert Grissom was on his way to the terminal to pick up Mr Stark and Mr Hogan when the fire fight broke out. It is uncertain at this time who was the intended victim was but a DNA analysis has confirmed that, at some point during the gun battle, Harold Hogan was shot. The where-abouts of the three men are still unknown. If anyone has any information, we erge them to please contact the Las Vegas Police Department. Thank you."

"Isn't it obvious?" Tony seemed confused

"No, it isn't. Three seperate attacks, on four days and all of them are directly related, in some way, shape or form, to me."

"Coincidence."

"Don't believe in them. Someone is trying to send me a message and obviously has no problem with killing anyone in the way." Gil ran a hand through his hair. "If Sara or Ginny get hurt because of this..."

"We'll figure this out Gil. We have to."


	14. Are you

_This story is FINALLY going in the right direction. I am now two chapters away from making this my longest story to date :-) Now my problem is, I have two different endings in my head and might possibly be able to use my inquisite mind and weeve them both together. We'll see how we go when we get there._

_I have more than likely get my Las Vegas geometry wrong as I have never been to America. I've been to Spain though. _

_The last chapter was naff and I hope you'll forgive me by how totally awesome I think this one is. There is something in here that could possibly confuse a few people but it is NOT a mistake, I did it on purpose. Its all right._

_Enjoy :-)_

_(..............................)_

Since the new report, Gil had been twisting his wedding band thoughtlessly around his finger, Tony was fiddling with wires in the suit without actually accomplishing anything and, despite having his eyes closed, Happy wasn't even close to falling asleep.

As sudden noise to the left caught Happy's attention. He would have passed it off as a rat, if it hadn't cursed.

(...........................)

"Pepper, please sit down, youire making me dizzy."

"I can't sit still right now. It's bad enough that Gil, Tony _and _Happy are missing, but Sully isn't answering his phone and mum won't talk to me."

She tried to ignore her friend for a further ten minutes, failing horribly. Sara stood up quickly, with the intent of seating Pepper herself, when the room started spinning and she almost missed the chair.

"Sara?"

"Trash can."

In record time, Sara was hugging a trash can to her chest while pucking into it rather noisily. The only thing Pepper could think to do was hold her hair out of the way and rub her back in what she hoped was a soothing manner.

"I'm over this already." Sara grumbled.

"Sara are you-" A knock on the door cut off the rest of the question. Stood on the other side was someone very familiar. "Now isn't the best time Malcolm."

"I need to talk to Sully."

"He's not here." Pepper's voice was almost cold something Sara had never heard before.

"Olivia?"

"Not available. I'd like you to leave."

"Why are you judging Virginia, you don't even know me."

"Don't call me that. _Nobody _calls me Virginia. If you'll excuse me." Without waiting for a response she did the very un-Pepper thing and slammed the door in his face.

(.........................................)

The sound of marching footsteps was steadily growing louder. Grissom turned to the others.

"That might not the police Tony."

"I don't care, I'm not leaving you here on your own."

"I'm not giving you a choice Tony. You take Happy and you get the hell out of here."

Never had Tony been more reluctant in his life. Pepper would kill him if he keft her brother to face an unknown enemy by himself, but with the armor having no power and Happy injured he wasn't being left with much of a choice.

"Go!"

Grabbing Happy's arm and throwing it over his shoulder, the two men made their way as quickly as possible to the far end of the warehouse. Only as they reached the door did they both turn at the sound of a gun shot.

(............................)

As if the powers that be could hear her thoughts, Pepper's phone rang, the caller ID flashing with the number that Captain Brass had provided during his eariler visit.

"Captain Brass?"

"Hi Pepper I have what I hope is good news. A couple of kids reported suspicious activity at an abandoned warehouse about twenty minutes from McCarren. We may have found Gil but there's still no sign of Tony or Happy."

"Have you told Sara?"

"Her phone's switched off. I'm getting slammed here would you mind coming down to the station?"

"Sure. I can be there in about twenty minutes."

Sara had passed out shortly after the unwanted visit from Malcolm which is why her phone was off. Not wanting to get her hopes up, Pepper left her a quick note on the coffee table and left as silently as possible.

Grissom sat at the table in interrigation, looking slightly uncomfortable with his hands cuffed behind his back. Pepper observed him through the mirrored glass as Brass came to stand beside her.

"Where's Sara?"

"She's not feeling well. When I left she was asleep."

"So she doesn't know?"

"No, because she doesn't need to." Brass was giving her the funniest look so she elaborated. "That's not Gil."

(............................... )

_Didnt see THAT coming did ya? Anyone figure it out yet? If you can, PM me dont comment, it'll spoil it for everyone else._


	15. From brother to boyfriend to be

_A snowball must be sipping cocktails in hell. I UPDATED! OMG! I've lost the USB with the original files but all hope is not lost. I'm keeping the faith that I'll find it._

_In other news: remember the comic book? I have the Most Wanted Book 1, then I realized Book 1 is Incredible Iron Man issues 7-13, meaning I have no idea how the series started. Dammit._

_*Sigh*_

(...)

"What the hell were you thinking Sully?"

"Ginny, I know you're mad-"

"No. I am not mad, I am _pissed! _What, on heaven and earth, possessed you to do something this stupid? Sara is a wreck at the moment, I dont need you _fucking_ around on top of everything else."

"Does she know?"

"No. You're damn lucky she was asleep or you'd be down in the morgue right about now. I need you...I need your help right now. Ok? I cant deal with this on my own."

"I'm sorry Ginny, but I need to everyone, including Sara. There's a method to my madness I swear."

"It better be one damn good explanation."

(...)

"A few weeks back, a friend of my in Orlando gave me a call about a guy he was following. Something went wrong and he needed an alibi. He's law enforcement so I didnt ask. I didnt hear anything again up until four days. The guy had skipped town and was tracked down in Vegas. 12 hours later, Gil called me about mom."

"You think they're related."

"Yeah. After Gil went missing, I called him back, asked him what he knew and you aint gonna like it Ginny. They're following a guy named Spencer Larroca."

"Oh God." Pepper covered her face with her hands.

"Who?"

"Spencer Lorreca is my ex-fiance." Sara gave Pepper a funny look.

"How is the first time I'm hearing about this?"

"It ended about a week after we got engaged. I was working longer hours than usual because Tony had gone missing. He thought I was cheating on him with Tony. That was his excuse when I found him with Sharnee McDonald."

"I never liked her."

"Gil found out and apparently a fight broke out between them."

"I wondered why Gil came back from vacation with a sprained wrist."

"But why would mom come to Vegas? She _slapped _him and told him to stay away."

"Nothing about this makes sense, I'll run it by Brass though."

"Thanks Cath." The team left the family. Only when they were alone did Sully pull a small tape from his pocket.

"Happy took this. I dont know what's on it but he said you should both see it." Handing it over, he left the ladies alone.

(...)

_Tony laughed riley._

_"What?"_

_"Nothing. Everyone seems to think I'm having a huge love affair with Pepper."_

_"Watching you two together, its not a bad assumption."_

_"She hates me."_

_"Who? Ginny?"_

_"Ever since the damn press conference, all we've seemed to do is argue."_

_"You did drop quite a large bomb shell Tony."_

_"I know, its just...how long have you known your wife?"_

_"Eleven years, give or take."_

_"How much do you know about her family?"_

_"Her older brother Josh is in Iraq with the army."_

_"What about her parents?" Gil hesitated._

_"I'd rather not say."_

_"But know about them."_

_"A bit yeah."_

_"I've known Pepper for as long as you've known your missus...and I hardly know a thing about her. My best friend and I didnt know she had a brother, let alone twin brothers."_

_"Sara."_

_"Huh?"_

_"The missus? Her name is Sara." _

_"Oh." Silence fell between them._

_"Can I ask you something?" Tony shrugged_

_"Shoot."_

_"You fly around the world in your high-tech gismo, but what you do come home for?"_

_"Explain?"_

_"You can fly anywhere in the world, you sure as hell have the money, yet you always return to Malibu. Why?" Tony didnt say anything. "Because I'd bet my now wrecked 87 Camara Z28 that Ginny is the only reason you come back."_

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Only cause you try for it not to be." Tony stared at him. Gil shrugged. ""Its a married people thing."

_"Is it weird?"_

_"Talking to the guy who's in love with my little sister? You're saving me ten minutes running a background check."_

_"Please be joking."_

_"I'll let you figure that one out."_

_"As the married one, what do you recogn I do?"_

_"I cant answer that. As mean as it sounds, its something you need to figure out on your own. Iron Man can only fix so many problems. You're a smart guy Tony, if you cant figure it out, all hope for you is lost."_

"Wow, I feel so inspired."

_"Guys, I think someone's here." _The camera shifted, not staring at the ceiling.

_"Shit. Put that thing away."_

_"Sully, what the hell?"_

_"I'll explain later. You have to get out of here right now."_

_"Sully what-"_

_"There's no time! Gil, you need to trust me on this."_

_"What if its the police?" Tony said hopefully_

_"It might not be the police Tony."_

_"I dont care, I'm not leaving you here on your own."_

_"I'm not giving you a choice Tony. You take Happy and you get the hell out of here. Go!" There was shuffling and the camera switched off._


End file.
